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Inside Politics

Bush v. Kerry: The Numbers Game; Literary Arms Race

Aired April 04, 2004 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" is up next with Candy Crowley. First, here's what is happening at this hour.
Violence breaks out in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, as Shiites mount a protest. There's word of at least 19 deaths in a gun battle between Spanish forces and protesters. The demonstrators were upset with what they claim is the U.S.-led coalition's targeting of a Shiite cleric. He's spoken out against the U.S. presence in Iraq.

U.S. Civilian Administrator Paul Bremer said such violence will not be tolerated. And in a bid to bring more stability to Iraq, Bremer also announced the creation of three Iraqi civilian services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: Intelligence is the indispensable tool against terrorism. It is the single most valuable tool used to counter the terrorist's advantage of ruthlessness and initiative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Spain, new developments on the terror front. The suspected ringleader of last month's train attacks in Madrid and three other suspects in that case were mooing five people killed yesterday in an explosion. A police officer was also killed. Authorities say the wanted man set off an explosion while police were in pursuit at that apartment building just outside of Madrid.

And at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II was protected by more police than usual as he led Palm Sunday services. Italian media report intelligence services are concerned about a possible terror attack against the pope during the Easter season.

Now time for "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY."

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST: INSIDE POLITICS: today, Bush versus Kerry and the numbers game. From a jump in new jobs to record-breaking fund-raising, we'll do the math with Kerry campaign chairwoman Jeanne Shaheen and the Bush-Cheney communications director Nicolle Devenish.

A literary arms race. From Richard Clarke to Karen Hughes, what you buy in the bookstore says something about how you'll vote on Election Day. We'll explain.

And this is "Jeopardy," Washington style. Power players go eye to eye with Alex Trebek.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

CROWLEY: Good morning. It is April 4. And check your watches. It is 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Central, 8:00 a.m. in the mountains, and 7:00 a.m. on the West Coast. That is, except, in Arizona, Hawaii, and parts of Indiana. This is the first day of Daylight Saving Time of 2004.

It is also Palm Sunday. For sports fans, the final four is now the final two. Georgia Tech plays Connecticut tomorrow night.

But our focus is on the political arena. I'm Candy Crowley in Washington. Politics doesn't take weekends off, and neither do we.

We begin today with a look ahead to some critical testimony before the 9/11 Commission. President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, is on the witness list for Thursday. We want to get more now from Suzanne Malveaux at the White House -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Condoleezza Rice is preparing for that testimony to go before the 9/11 Commission on Thursday. She is going to make the administration's case first and foremost that the Bush administration did take the threats of al Qaeda seriously, previous to the September 11 attacks. She will go on to make the case the first foreign policy directive of the administration was to eliminate the terrorist organizations. And she will also stress, as well, that the president was not blinded by a desire to go after Saddam Hussein or Iraq.

As you know, the White House was under tremendous pressure to bring her forward publicly. It was just this past week that it reversed itself. What Bush aides are hoping is that she will discredit the testimony of Richard Clarke, who made the allegation that the Bush administration, had it been more diligent, had Dr. Rice done her job, that perhaps the September 11 attacks could have been avoided. Long-time adviser Karen Hughes on "Meet the Press."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN HUGHES, PRESIDENT BUSH ADVISER: I don't think we could have envisioned it and done anything to prevent it. If we could have in either administration, either in the eight years of the Clinton administration, or the seven-and-a-half months of the Bush administration, I'm convinced we would have done so. And I think that the problem with what Mr. Clarke did is it created a sense of misplaced responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, while Bush aides say, of course, that it's very important, Dr. Rice's testimony, what they hope the American people will do, will judge the president based on his actions after September 11, how went after al Qaeda, the war on terror, the war in Iraq. And, Candy, I should also let you know, as well, the conditions, what happens on the ground inside of Iraq, that is a big concern to this White House. The latest incident of violence in Najaf today -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks a lot, Suzanne.

John Kerry officially returns to the campaign trail this morning after recuperation from minor surgery on his shoulder. He visits church in Boston's Dorchester section and later flies to Washington for a week in which Kerry is expected to step up efforts to define himself for voters.

Kelly Wallace reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry's doctor might not be happy when he sees this: the senator slingless, greeting passersby outside his Boston home Saturday, before huddling inside with his foreign policy team. A day earlier, he chatted with his economic team. His top advisers, some of the biggest names in the Clinton administration, including former treasury secretary, Robert Ruben. Challenge number one, though, for Senator Kerry, who is making the issue of jobs a major part of his campaign, what to say about 300,000 new jobs created in March, the largest one- month increase in four years.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, all of us are pleased with the job numbers for this month. But there's almost no way this administration will avoid having lost two million jobs.

WALLACE: And that's a message aides say the senator will continue to bring to the campaign trail and to his ads. Like this new one...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Bush says sending jobs overseas makes sense for America.

WALLACE: .. now running in 17 states considered battlegrounds.

Challenge number two for Kerry, getting back on the stump and explaining what he would do as president after a March in which the Bush team spent millions trying to define the senator as a tax-raising threat to the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will say in focus groups when you listen to people, "I don't know much about him. I want to know more. When is he going to start talking to us?"

WALLACE: And challenge number three, keep bringing in the cash. Although just a few months ago the campaign was strapped, it has not been a problem of late. It announced it raised a record more than $50 million in the first three months of the year, topping what had been the record for a non-incumbent, the $29 million then Governor Bush raised in three months in 1999.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And challenge number four, no handshaking for at least a week, and no holding babies for a bit longer. Those are doctor's orders. And, Candy, perhaps this is the biggest challenge of all for a candidate who is trying to win over voters one rope line at a time -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Kelly, I want to talk about the biggest decision this candidate is going to have to make between now and the convention, and that's his number two. You have, as I have, talked to a number of people inside the campaign. Mostly outside the campaign is where the chatter is coming from.

I do hear that there's talk of this May 1 internal deadline for the campaign to come up with a veep name and then sometime shortly thereafter announce it. What's the rush here? What are the pros of that?

WALLACE: Well, the pros, Candy, of course, is getting some extra help out on the campaign trail to raise money. But, also, to sort of hit back on the attacks coming from President Bush, and also attacks coming from Vice President Dick Cheney.

Some advisers are concerned about those attacks, concerned about the impact on John Kerry. So that gives them some extra help on the trail.

The downside, of course, Candy, here, then you take all the mystery away if you have an early decision before the Democratic convention in July. So the one thing we're finding, though, Candy, lots of secrecy here. Aides are not talking about it. Jim Johnson, who is in charge of this search, really holding things very, very close to the vest -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks a lot, Kelly Wallace. Appreciate it.

We want to get some details directly from the Kerry campaign. Joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire, is the Granite State's former governor, Jeanne Shaheen, who is also the Kerry camp's national chairwoman.

Thank you so much for joining us, Governor.

JEANNE SHAHEEN, KERRY CAMPAIGN NATIONAL CHAIRWOMAN: Good morning.

CROWLEY: I want to talk about a couple of things. The first is that we are hearing rumblings both from the candidate himself on the trail and others that he is re-figuring some of these budget numbers that he has been hit so hard on for these new programs. Given that all the polls are showing that people are buying into the flip-flop, how does the candidate change his mind about some of these ideas he's put out there during the campaign without feeding into that perception? SHAHEEN: Well, I don't think it's the question of changing his mind about the ideas. I think it's a question of letting people know what his proposals are.

You know, the fact is, the L.A. Times poll that came out last week showed that people believe that John Kerry is going to be better on the economy, he's going to be better on fiscal issues than George Bush. And they have good reasons to feel that way.

The fact is, we have not seen a proposal by this administration to deal with creating new jobs despite the good numbers for this past month. His only proposal has been to make the tax cut for the wealthiest Americans permanent.

John Kerry doesn't believe that's the best way to create jobs. He thinks we need to invest in education, to invest in science and technology. He wants to see us cut the loopholes that encourage companies to go overseas to create jobs. Right now...

CROWLEY: Governor, if I could, the question kind of goes more to some of the things that he's talked about on the campaign trail. Now they are looking at the numbers inside the camp, realizing that there may not be the money out there to fully fund some of these projects. Is that not a problem?

SHAHEEN: Well, I'm not sure where you have gotten that information. What we plan to do in the coming weeks is to put forward a budget that shows where we think the numbers are going to come from. We've already put out a plan for how he intends to create 10 million jobs in the next four years.

So we're trying to be very clear about where we think we would get the money and what our plans would be on job creation, on health care. We just saw an independent proposal that said Kerry's health care plan is going to provide significant savings through his efforts to make records available electronically and through some of the cost- saving measures in his health care plan.

So I think what our intent is, is to get that information out so people know what John Kerry is proposing. And we believe when they hear that, they are going to recognize that he has proposals on health care, on job creation, on the environment, on education. And the current president has policies that have not worked to create jobs.

CROWLEY: So it sounds like you're saying that the definition of John Kerry begins in full with his budget proposals. One of the things that will be a very defining moment for him will be this vice presidential choice. What do you make as doing it as early as the talk is now, somewhere as early as May 1 on down until maybe May 30? It would still be quite early. Any disadvantage to that?

SHAHEEN: You know, I think all of that is really speculation. The fact is, we put in place an independent process to do the vice presidential selection.

As you said, and we talked about this before, that process is separate from the campaign operation. The goal is to select the person who is best qualified to that position. And that's what is going to happen.

CROWLEY: The four names that are mentioned again in The New York Times are some we have been hearing for a while: Vilsack out of Iowa, Richardson out of New Mexico, John Edwards, of course, and Dick Gephardt. Of those four, do you think you could find one in there that you really like?

SHAHEEN: Well, they are certainly all honorable men who have served well. There are a lot of other potential candidates, including women out there. So I think the field is wide open. And we're going to see a very careful selection process.

CROWLEY: So, just quickly, you don't see that as a final list?

SHAHEEN: That's not any list that I have seen.

CROWLEY: OK.

SHAHEEN: Other than from all of you.

CROWLEY: Well, you know, we like to help out whenever we can.

SHAHEEN: That's right.

CROWLEY: Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is also, of course, the chairwoman of the Kerry campaign. Thanks so much for joining us.

SHAHEEN: Thank you.

CROWLEY: D.C. power players hit the game show circuit, raising money for a good cause. We'll take you there.

Also, on the road with the Bush-Cheney camp. We'll hear from the campaign's communication director.

And later, the literary arms race. We'll examine the link between books bought and votes cast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: There was a new sense of economic optimism at the White House after Friday's employment report from the Labor Department. But there remain those questions about what the administration did or did not do in the months prior to the September 11 attacks. Condoleezza Rice testifies on Thursday before the 9/11 Commission.

Nicolle Devenish, who is communications director for Bush-Cheney 2004, is with me now to talk about how the campaign is handling the normal ups and downs that every campaign has.

Welcome, Nicolle, on your debut here. Thanks for joining us.

NICOLLE DEVENISH, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUSH-CHENEY 2004: Right. Thank you. I'm glad it's with you. CROWLEY: Let me talk first about the upcoming testimony. This has shown some -- there's been some erosion in the president's numbers on terrorism. How is the White House preparing Condoleezza Rice for this? And how tied is this to the whole campaign effort? It seems, you know, the whole ball of wax for George Bush has been the fight on terrorism.

DEVENISH: Sure. I think there are a couple of things to talk about. And, certainly, from the campaign perspective, we're not involved in preparing Dr. Rice. But she is most definitely the administration's very best messenger in talking about these things.

And I think we have all heard her explain that the president was tired of a policy that amounted to what they describe as swatting flies. So they were in the process of retooling that strategy. And I think you'll hear from Dr. Rice that the president was very much focused on fighting terrorism and coming up with a new strategy for seeking out terrorism and terrorists, where they train and where they live.

And that is certainly the path the president has put us on. And I think when you look at the way the campaigns have to deal with these very important issues, it's not to involve ourselves in the important work of the 9/11 Commission. It is really to present to voters a vision next November of how we move forward in preventing attacks of like those of 9/11 from ever happening again. And there's a real difference there between George Bush's vision of seeking out terror, where it grows and where those plans are hatched, and John Kerry's belief these are really law enforcement matters to be treated after the fact.

CROWLEY: Let me show you what is a campaign problem that stems from this. It's an L.A. Times poll that came out late last week. The question: "Was President Bush more focused on attacking Iraq than dealing with terrorism as his top priority?"

Fifty-seven percent of people said yes. They thought he was more focused on Iraq, on the battle against terrorism. For a campaign that is counting very much on this as a war president, those are troublesome numbers. How do you reverse that?

DEVENISH: Well, first of all, it's simply not true. And I think that when we begin this conversation -- we have only been engaged in this dialogue with John Kerry for one month. It's hard to believe that it's only been one month. But I think when people see each campaign present its vision for fighting terror in a post-9/11 world, where our oceans no longer protect us from these threats, I think it will be very clear that George Bush's vision and plan for doing that is one that will protect us from future attacks.

So I think we have begun a process that will go on for the next eight months, where you will hear us contrasting the president's vision with John Kerry's long record of voting against these very weapons systems that are protecting us here and helping us fight and win the war on terror. And those conversations are important, and they're going to be part of this campaign. CROWLEY: Let me talk to you about the economy. You all got a blast of good news from the new employment -- 300,000, a little more, jobs created...

DEVENISH: Right.

CROWLEY: ... in March. But the unemployment rate is still a couple points higher than it was when George Bush came into office. There's a very good chance he will come up to November having lost jobs as an incumbent president. Not since Herbert Hoover, as the Democrats will remind you.

How do you push back on an economic problem that all the polls show John Kerry is much stronger on than George Bush?

DEVENISH: Well, I don't think they have heard enough again about John Kerry's long record of supporting higher taxes.

CROWLEY: But isn't it a matter really of pushing George Bush's record? I mean, yes, it's one thing to attack John Kerry, and that's fine. But what do you have to sell economically to the American people?

DEVENISH: Now, that's a good question. And I heard Governor Shaheen just say that the president doesn't have policies for job creations. And I'm not sure if she missed Friday's news.

But certainly creating 300,000 jobs in March is evidence. And I think the American people will see it as proof that the president's pro-growth agenda is working. You know, under this president's leadership we turned a recession into a very robust recovery. So I think that, again, we'll have this conversation over the next seven months about the dueling visions for continuing the growth.

CROWLEY: We've only got about 30 seconds left. I want to ask you a question I put to the White House as well. And that is, we saw a lot of things during the primary campaign with Democrats, mostly people who's factory jobs have been lost forever in the small towns. What is in these numbers that gives them any hope?

DEVENISH: You know, I saw you interview Greg Mankiw on Friday, and I think his answer is the right one, that you need to grow the economy. And we need to enact a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda that will keep this economy growing. And I think that's the best thing we can do to bring those jobs back.

CROWLEY: Nicolle Devenish, communications director, come back and see us.

DEVENISH: Thanks.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

Next, a former presidential candidate answers the age-old question, what did you do on summer vacation?

Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": Try to relax, understand that you're playing for charity. You are putting your egos on the line for your charities, and that is a good thing. So you are a winner already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: ... Washington power plays love to show off, but this time it's for a good cause. We'll play final "Jeopardy" later on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Welcome back. Time for the headlines in the Sunday edition of our "Campaign News Daily."

In a Pennsylvania primary showdown for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Arlen Specter and Congressman Pat Toomey faced off last night in their only debate. Not surprisingly, each disparaged the other's voting record and claimed he was the more concerned candidate. Primary day is April 27.

Former presidential candidate John Edwards received a warm welcome from North Dakota Democrats at their annual convention in Fargo. The delegates cheered when Senator Kent Conrad hinted that "Vice President Edwards" had a nice ring to it. And Edwards kept the crowd going by sharing his thoughts on President Bush's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to outsource George Bush and this administration. Then we can provide real jobs for people in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: And turning to another former presidential candidate, Howard Dean has a summer job, distinguished visiting fellow. Dean will visit Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, giving a speech in a few weeks and another after the November elections. This summer, Dean will spend some time on campus meeting students and perhaps doing some writing of his own.

Speaking out against the coalition. The headlines this morning as thousands march through Baghdad.

And, it started with a Clinton administration. Now the presidential book boom has extended into the Bush White house. We'll examine why straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta with these headlines.

Iraqi Shiite protests in the holy city of Najaf turned deadly. Officials report at least 19 people killed in clashes with Spanish-led forces. The demonstrators support a Shiite cleric who has been outspoken against the U.S. military presence in Iraq. U.S. Civilian Administrator Paul Bremer says the protests crossed the line and will not be tolerated.

Travel outside Baghdad's Green Zone was halted today because of Shiite demonstrations in Baghdad there. The Green Zone is the site of the U.S.-led coalition headquarters. Officials took the decision, pointing out the protests would turn violent. No word on when the travel ban might be lifted.

Here at home, the State of Liberty, closed since 9/11 and due to reopen in July, could have done so sooner, apparently. The New York Times says foundation officials did not dip into general fund, and the National Park Service did not ask Congress for needed security upgrades. Officials say there was no rush.

Now more of INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

CROWLEY: Welcome back to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

The war has begun, between liberal and conservative authors, that is. In recent months, political books have dominated the best seller lists. But who buys these books and why?

Bill Schneider has this week's "Story Behind the Story."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): The literary arms race is on. Books have become weapons in the cultural war that's been going on since the '60s, left versus right -- a war that reached the peek with the baby-boom presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

RICH LOWRY, NATIONAL REVIEW: The Clinton and Bush are sort of archetypes for each side in this conflict.

SCHNEIDER: The Clintons spawned an entire industry of anti- Clinton books, with titles like "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "No One Left To Lie To."

But the Clintons got their revenge when Hillary Clinton's "Living History" became a worldwide best seller.

Now there's a thriving market in anti-Bush books, with titles like "Bushwhacked" and "Weapons of Mass Deception."

The secret of success in that market? Timing says David Corn, author of "The Lies of George Bush."

DAVID CORN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE NATION: In the spring of 2002 I talked to my agent about doing a book like this. She sniffed around the publishing houses, and at that point there was no interest.

SCHNEIDER: But times changes quickly.

CORN: In October of 2002, my agent tried again and got six houses within a day to say, Yes, we want to do it.

SCHNEIDER: Now, with the campaign on, there's also a thriving market in pro-Bush books, like "Deliver Us From Evil," "The Faith of George W. Bush" and "Bush Country." Each side is armed to the teeth -- with shocking revelations?

CRAIG UNGER, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF BUSH, HOUSE OF SAUD": Never before in history has a president of the United States had such a close relationship with another foreign power as the Bush family has with the Saudis.

SCHNEIDER: And up-front agendas like a new book by presidential adviser Karen Hughes.

KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: It's important to my family and to all the families in America that he be re-elected.

SCHNEIDER: You know on Web sites like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com they tell you customers who bought this book, also bought these other books? One scholar used that information to map out books that shared the same readers. Sure enough, he found two distinct markets a network of conservative readers, who purchased books like "The O'Reilly Factor;" and a network of liberal readers who purchased books like "The O'Reilly Factor".

Blue readers and red readers rarely read each other books and there are very few books that both sides read. Who needs neutrality when there's a war on?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: You want to see this literary arms race go nuclear? You wait until this summer, when Bill Clinton's book is supposed to come out -- Candy.

CROWLEY: I can't wait.

Swing voters, what do they buy?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it turns out that they don't read these books very much. These books are used to arm those who are already persuaded. Literature is supposed to convince the unconvinced, but very people are -- those people read these books.

CROWLEY: And what determines best seller? Is it the politics of the day?

SCHNEIDER: Timing, timing, timing.

You know, the Richard Clarke book came out right in the thick of the 9/11 hearings, and people accused him of timing it to do maximum arm to the Bush administration. But he said, No, no, no, he submitted it to the White House for clearance months ago, and they're the ones who caused it to be released now.

CROWLEY: And another lesson in timing next week?

SCHNEIDER: Oh, yes, the Craig Unger books is coming out next week, "House of Bush, House of Saud." Right in the middle of the controversy over 9/11, he has written a book which purports to show all the ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family.

CROWLEY: Thanks so much, Bill Schneider, senior political analyst, appreciate it.

Up next, a scoop for your coffee cup. "The Morning Grind" mulls over the veep list.

Plus....

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL FRANKEN, SATIRIST: Ask what Alex Trebek for "Jeopardy!" in the form of a question, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Who is Washington's best "Jeopardy!" player? We go behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in politics. That's ahead on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Welcome back.

Here with our Sunday cup of "The Morning Grind," we've got CNN political editor John Mercurio.

John...

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes?

CROWLEY: OK. So, I want to start with last week, which is when we heard that John Sasso was coming to the DNC at the behest of John Kerry. What does that mean?

MERCURIO: Well, it's not going to do much. People are asking this weekend what it's going to do to Terry McAuliffe's role. It's not going to dramatically affect his role as the chairman of the committee, and as the sort of the titular leader of the party.

But second to McAuliffe. John Sasso is probably the most influential person now at the DNC. Basically, what he's going to do is sort of run the Kerry's campaign -- run the DNC portions of Kerry's campaign. For the sort of the political insiders, they remember Michael Huley from 2000. He was Al Gore's -- he was Al Gore's John Sasso.

CROWLEY: Eyes, ears, mouth.

MERCURIO: Eyes, ears, mouth, exactly.

People were watching, I think, this appointment very closely to sort of -- as a signal for how Kerry planned to use the committee during the campaign. And I think by choosing Sasso, who is a very serious, a very seasoned political operative, people think that he intends to use the committee, you know, intensely, plans to use all of its resources.

Sasso is a pretty well known political operative. He helped run Michael Dukakis' campaign in 1988. He serves on the -- on Fannie Mae right now, the board of Fannie Mae. And a piece of political trivia -- he was the Democrat in 1988 on the campaign who sort of outed or who discovered that Joe Biden was responsible or had plagiarized several speeches, which of course forced Joe Biden to drop out of the 1988 campaign.

CROWLEY: Oh, the possibilities are endless. Thank you so much.

MERCURIO: Little feather -- little feather in his cap, so...

CROWLEY: That's right. Yes.

So what else with the DNC? Anything else? I mean, is the Sasso appointment the end of it for Kerry or...

MERCURIO: No, it's actually sort of just the beginning. I'm hearing sources telling me that there are two other appointments that we should be watching for, one of them definitely taking place this week.

The campaign plans to announce that they have a surrogate committee director, and what that sort of means is the person who is going to be responsible for compiling the list and maintaining an active list of surrogate, the Democrats who can speak on Kerry's behalf. Obviously, Kerry can't be everywhere, speaking everywhere. So he needs people -- you know, potential VP candidates out there campaigning for him, speaking for him.

The other one that we're watching for, and it's, I think, very important is the director of what will be the Independent Expenditure Committee. Now what that -- it sounds kind of jargonish, but what it basically means is that this people will be responsible for overseeing the funding and the production of all the ads that the DNC runs for -- on behalf of the Kerry campaign. Kerry won't have anything to do with that appointment because of McCain-Feingold, they can't be responsible.

CROWLEY: That's a non -- they can't -- yes, that whole -- they can't coordinate.

MERCURIO: Right, exactly.

CROWLEY: So some -- so the DNC, presumably, is going to appoint that person. MERCURIO: Exactly. Exactly.

CROWLEY: Who will probably be Kerry friendly.

MERCURIO: I would imagine. All Democrats are Kerry friendly these days, right?

CROWLEY: Apparently, yes. Most of them, anyway.

OK. Veeps.

MERCURIO: Yes. Speaking of friendly Democrats...

CROWLEY: Yes, right. The friendliest of all Democrats are those who want to be in the veep. Who's -- what names are you hearing?

MERCURIO: Well, three of his former opponents in the primary, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt and Wesley Clark are out there these days. They're kind of campaigning on Kerry's behalf publicly, and on the surface. But they're also sort of out there promoting themselves, getting their names in the headlines.

Most importantly or most interestingly, I thought, was John Edwards, who was in North Dakota yesterday. He gave a speech at the state party's convention in Fargo. People called it a great speech. You know, really roused the crowd. Sold-out crowd. Standing room only.

But sort of the big news out of it -- you mentioned this in the "Campaign News Daily" -- was that senators Dorgan -- Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad came out and sort of publicly endorsed or at least, you know, strongly recommended that Kerry pick John Edwards. I talked to Senator Dorgan last night and he told me that he's strongly supporting -- plans to talk to John Kerry this week. Called Edwards "fully vetted," said he brings energy to the party and would to the ticket, and he's a Southern centrist who can win in November, which is sort of interesting -- I don't know of any other senators -- U.S. sitting senators who have kind of publicly come out and endorsed anybody in the VP race. It's sort of interesting.

Whether Dorgan and Conrad have much of an influence on Kerry sort of remains to be seen.

Gephardt was out there in New Hampshire last week on Thursday, gave two big speeches. Sort of intended, I think, to thank supporters who actually never got a chance to vote for him, because, remember, he dropped out before -- before New Hampshire -- before the New Hampshire primary.

And Clark will be honored; he'll be the keynote speaker on Thursday at a New Hampshire -- I'm sorry, at an Arkansas Democratic Party fund-raiser. So he'll get a chance there, I'm sure, to speak on behalf of Kerry, but also talk about himself.

CROWLEY: It's kind of like the veep primary going on here.

MERCURIO: Exactly. Exactly. CROWLEY: OK. I want to talk about the Pennsylvania race. Arlen Specter, Pat Toomey, both Republicans in a primary -- really bitter, trough primary race.

MERCURIO: Yes.

CROWLEY: Had their first debate last night. Obviously on the sidelines was the congressman who will be the Democratic nominee.

How did he get back -- how would he get back into the game?

MERCURIO: Yes, Joe Hoeffel was sitting on the sidelines last night, but he came up what could be the latest fad in political debate watching, something that might actually make these things fun to watch -- the debate drinking game.

So -- and here's how you play.

CROWLEY: OK. I have teenage children. We don't like this game.

MERCURIO: Here's how you play: every time -- according to the Hoeffel campaign Web site, they put up the rules for this. Every time Pat Toomey called Specter "a dangerous liberal," you take a sip. Every time Arlen Specter takes specific credit for Clarence Thomas being on the Supreme Court , you take a sip. And every candidate -- every time either candidate invokes his -- quote -- "good friend George W. Bush," you would take a sip. And obviously, there were several more rules of the game.

Now, Hoeffel, of course, is a politician, so he wasn't trying to encourage anybody to get drunk. He was encouraging people to drink Evian water for this. But people wrote into his campaign blog saying, No, I'm not going to drink water, I'm going to drink -- Pennsylvania's got at least four or five good beers. You've got Yingling, you've got Rolling Rock, you've got -- what is it? Penn -- I can't even remember all the good beers.

CROWLEY: That's just as well. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) John Mercurio's. Write him.

MERCURIO: Right. Exactly.

CROWLEY: John, thank you for joining us.

Get your morning off to a wired start with the best brew on politics, "The Morning Grind." It's at www.cnn.com/grind.

Stay tuned for "Jeopardy!," the Washington, .D.C., version. Did your favorite power player make the cut?

Also, Bush versus Kerry. Our hot topics team explores who's winning the race for the White House with seven months to go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Democrats are facing unprecedented challenges in planning for their convention in Boston. They are balancing the threat of terrorism with keeping downtown businesses happy.

CNN's Dan Lothian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): At this maid service and software company in Boston, security and traffic plans for the Democratic National Convention are causing major headaches.

JANE KOOPMAN, MAID PRO MARKETING DIRECTOR: Well, we talk about shutting down for a week. We talk about all going on vacation, hopefully on company time. But realistically, some of us are probably going to have to work from home.

LOTHIAN: Why? The convention's main venue is just out the window, the North Station train stop, which feeds this area and is under the Fleet Center, will be closed. And a key interstate, 93, just yards away, will be shut down during evening hours. Difficult for workers here to get in, even harder for the cleaning staff to pick up supplies and make house calls.

KOOPMAN: I guess Boston stays dirty.

LOTHIAN: Massachusetts General Hospital, where Senator John Kerry had shoulder surgery on Wednesday, will try to shift appointments to earlier hours and postpone elective procedures planned during the four-day DNC event.

In all, 24,000 rail commuters will be displaced; some of the 200,000 commuters who use I-93 will be inconvenienced.

STEVE RICCIARDE, SECRET SERVICE: Our goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for all event participants and the general public.

LOTHIAN: Over the past 15 months, security has been the sole focus of multi-agency effort to prepare for the convention. And while the lives of hundreds of thousands of Boston-area residents will be disrupted, some are banking on the business the event will bring in to help alleviate the pain.

(on camera): In New York City, where the Republican convention will be held, the police commissioner says there are no plans to close Penn Station, which runs under Madison Square Garden, although he said there would be -- quote -- "a robust police presence around and onboard trains coming in and out of the station."

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Lots of talking points this week for both sides of the presidential fight, with Condoleezza Rice's testimony Thursday and some signs of job growth. How will they play in the campaigns?

Some ideas from CNN political analyst and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus.

Thank you all so much.

OK. Condoleezza Rice -- I've got to believe that the Republicans are dying to get this behind them.

CHERI JACOBUS, GOP STRATEGIST: Oh, actually, you know, everybody would probably want to get this behind them, when you look at it first on its face.

But the fact is, if you look at it this way -- if you're doing the strategy for the Bush campaign or for this White House, who would you want as the spokesperson out there on 9/11? More than anyone else, it would be Condoleezza Rice. So I don't know if there's some genius at work at the White House, or it's a happy accident. But the controversy surrounding putting her out there and having her testify has insured that more people will be looking at her, and she is the most impressive person in the administration, next to the president.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I agree that Condoleezza has done a great job over the last three years in presenting the president's case on a number of issues, including national security.

But this is a very important week for Condoleezza Rice. Not only must she go before congress -- I mean, the commission and answer some tough questions. But Condoleezza Rice must also discuss what, if any, steps the Bush administration took to address al Qaeda and the growing threat of terrorism. And she has, you know, in the past said some things that perhaps is a little contradictory. She must also this week come full circle and explain some of Richard Clarke's allegation.

JACOBUS: And she's actually the best person to do that.

The fact is Richard Clarke has been somewhat discredited himself. He's made some conflicting remarks. I think the polls show that the American people, after they've seen a little bit of Richard Clarke -- he's done well for himself; he's made money on the book. But they really kind of back the president on this.

So I think that Condoleezza Rice goes into her day on the cameras and her day in court, so to speak, really on the upswing. And I think...

BRAZILE: But you can just imagine Tim Roemer or Bob Kerrey or any number of commissioners asking Condoleezza, Why did they withhold Clinton files? I mean, this week we learned the Bush administration withheld over three quarter of Bill Clinton's files.

JACOBUS: Well, they are saying a lot of that was duplicative material, stuff that wasn't really important. And as soon as they saw that there was any question about it, they are putting that out there. So I think that's pretty much a non-issue.

And it -- I think if the Democrats want to focus on that this week, that would be fine by the Republicans because the really important issues are the things that Condoleezza Rice is going to be talking about this Thursday. She is going to perform as well as she always has.

BRAZILE: She's a great -- she's wonderful. I mean, we all know that she is savvy, she's smart. But this woman was prepared...

JACOBUS: Well, she's a darn good a national security adviser to a very good president.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: Well, look, I'm not going to join the fan club this week until after the testimony. How's that?

JACOBUS: We look forward to you joining.

BRAZILE: All right.

CROWLEY: Let me move on to the jobs figures, which came out this week.

So does that end jobs, jobs, jobs as an issue?

BRAZILE: Absolutely not. We've had two years of recovery, and finally 300,000 jobs. They promised it last year.

Look, had the recovery -- the job recovery taken place last year, perhaps this issue would not be on the table next month. But it will be on the table from now until Election Day, because this administration has lost 2.9 million jobs. We have seen no growth in manufacturing. This administration has no job plans.

So jobs, jobs, jobs from now until Election Day.

CROWLEY: All true -- all true figures. Came in with unemployment rate almost two points higher than when Clinton took office, and 2.5 million (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

JACOBUS: But you can't have a -- you can't have that argument in a vacuum without looking at the recession the president had when he first came into the office, without looking at 9/11 and at the war in Iraq.

The fact is, unemployment is down 40 of 50 states, many of those blue states that you guys consider yours. That -- when the arrows are pointing in the right direction, that's very good news for the president. That's what people look for. They don't blame him for jobs lost, but they're very encouraged...

BRAZILE: Oh, they blame him when his treasury secretary is in Cincinnati this week. I know, because people told me. I was in Cincinnati, Candy, and he's, again, talking about outsourcing. They blame him when the American unemployment is still...

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: People are worried about their jobs. We still do not have...

JACOBUS: 308,000 new jobs is nothing but good news and it's interesting to me....

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: It's good news, but Republicans are drinking champagne too soon. A job...

JACOBUS: You know what?

BRAZILE: We need a recovery plan that will bring good middle- class jobs back to the American people and not to China.

JACOBUS: None of us should be happy until every American who wants a job can have one.

BRAZILE: We agree on that.

JACOBUS: The arrow's in the right direction and the administration is doing very well in that regard.

CROWLEY: I've got less than a minute and I want to throw you a loop.

BRAZILE: Uh-oh.

CROWLEY: We're looking out there and the four names that keep coming up on these veep search for John Kerry: Vilsack in Iowa, Richardson in New Mexico, Gephardt in Missouri and...

BRAZILE: Edwards.

CROWLEY: .. Edwards -- right. How can we forget -- in North Carolina.

Pick one of those.

BRAZILE: Well, if I had to pick from that small list -- and I do believe the list is much longer, I would say Dick Gephardt.

Missouri is a battleground state. Dick Gephardt has incredible, you know, strength with organized labor and many other groups in the party. He's a moderate; he's mainstream. I think Dick Gephardt.

CROWLEY: You can't have that long, but who would you pick, if you were John Kerry.

JACOBUS: I don't think I would pick anybody in that four right now. I think they're going to wait and see who are going to pull in the state that John Kerry seems to be needing at the very end. It will be strictly based on...

BRAZILE: And I agree with that, too.

CROWLEY: Wow! We're going to end on that, agreement. Cheri Jacobus, Republican strategist. Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, thank you all.

JACOBUS: Thank you.

CROWLEY: Up next, play ball. It is opening day for Major League Baseball and we'll tell you which politicians are warming up in the bullpen.

Woah, there's -- there -- I'm not sure we want to go that far.

Is Washington in "Jeopardy!"? Absolutely. Details ahead, INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Batter up. The Bush-Cheney ticket is ready to play ball as the season begins for Major League Baseball. President Bush throws out the first pitch of the season in St. Louis. That's where the Cardinals face the Milwaukee Brewers. Vice-president Dick Cheney makes the first toss in Cincinnati for the Reds-Chicago Cubs game.

P.S., both Missouri and Ohio are important states in the election.

John Kerry's shoulder surgery keeps him from winding up.

Some political types are matching wits up on a popular TV games how. We caught up with "Jeopardy!"'s power players during a rehearsal for the game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: From Washington, D.C., This is Power Players week on "Jeopardy!"

ALEX TREBEK.HOST, "JEOPARDY!": Try to relax. Understand that you're playing for charity. You're putting your egos on the line for your charities, and that is a good thing. So you're a winner already.

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FMR. EPA ADMINISTRATOR: I've made a fool of myself for no money at all, so doing it for this amount of money for charity , it's OK..

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN ( R), ARIZONA: I'm glad to see that these very high-profile, really smart people are really showing how they're not very smart after all.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: I'm already to just blame my failure on the buzzer.

PEGGY NOONAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I'll teach them a lesson.

TUCKER CARLSON, CNN HOST: I think the odds are I'll be crushed, spanked, destroyed beaten and I'm prepared for that.

All right. 2001 for 600 please.

TAVIS SMILEY, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: My first strategy is hit the buzzer first. I play more video games than Christie Whitman and Tim Russert.

ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I am hoping they ask me who the prime minister of China is. That way I can say, "Who is Hu?"

FRANKEN: Boongie, boongie, boongie boo. Bunky, bunky, boink, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

I say ask not what "Jeopardy!" can do for you, ask what Alex Trebek can do for "Jeopardy!"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The "Jeopardy!" series airs the week of May 10. You will need to check your local listings for the right time.

Thank you for tuning into INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

In 30 minutes, on "RELIABLE SOURCES," "Images of War: How Much is Too Much?" Howard Kurtz and a panel of journalists discuss the week's disturbing pictures from Iraq.

And at noon Eastern, Wolf Blitzer hosts Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Carl Levin on "LATE EDITION."

We thank you for watching.

"CNN LIVE SUNDAY: continues right now from CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired April 4, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" is up next with Candy Crowley. First, here's what is happening at this hour.
Violence breaks out in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, as Shiites mount a protest. There's word of at least 19 deaths in a gun battle between Spanish forces and protesters. The demonstrators were upset with what they claim is the U.S.-led coalition's targeting of a Shiite cleric. He's spoken out against the U.S. presence in Iraq.

U.S. Civilian Administrator Paul Bremer said such violence will not be tolerated. And in a bid to bring more stability to Iraq, Bremer also announced the creation of three Iraqi civilian services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: Intelligence is the indispensable tool against terrorism. It is the single most valuable tool used to counter the terrorist's advantage of ruthlessness and initiative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Spain, new developments on the terror front. The suspected ringleader of last month's train attacks in Madrid and three other suspects in that case were mooing five people killed yesterday in an explosion. A police officer was also killed. Authorities say the wanted man set off an explosion while police were in pursuit at that apartment building just outside of Madrid.

And at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II was protected by more police than usual as he led Palm Sunday services. Italian media report intelligence services are concerned about a possible terror attack against the pope during the Easter season.

Now time for "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY."

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST: INSIDE POLITICS: today, Bush versus Kerry and the numbers game. From a jump in new jobs to record-breaking fund-raising, we'll do the math with Kerry campaign chairwoman Jeanne Shaheen and the Bush-Cheney communications director Nicolle Devenish.

A literary arms race. From Richard Clarke to Karen Hughes, what you buy in the bookstore says something about how you'll vote on Election Day. We'll explain.

And this is "Jeopardy," Washington style. Power players go eye to eye with Alex Trebek.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

CROWLEY: Good morning. It is April 4. And check your watches. It is 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Central, 8:00 a.m. in the mountains, and 7:00 a.m. on the West Coast. That is, except, in Arizona, Hawaii, and parts of Indiana. This is the first day of Daylight Saving Time of 2004.

It is also Palm Sunday. For sports fans, the final four is now the final two. Georgia Tech plays Connecticut tomorrow night.

But our focus is on the political arena. I'm Candy Crowley in Washington. Politics doesn't take weekends off, and neither do we.

We begin today with a look ahead to some critical testimony before the 9/11 Commission. President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, is on the witness list for Thursday. We want to get more now from Suzanne Malveaux at the White House -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Condoleezza Rice is preparing for that testimony to go before the 9/11 Commission on Thursday. She is going to make the administration's case first and foremost that the Bush administration did take the threats of al Qaeda seriously, previous to the September 11 attacks. She will go on to make the case the first foreign policy directive of the administration was to eliminate the terrorist organizations. And she will also stress, as well, that the president was not blinded by a desire to go after Saddam Hussein or Iraq.

As you know, the White House was under tremendous pressure to bring her forward publicly. It was just this past week that it reversed itself. What Bush aides are hoping is that she will discredit the testimony of Richard Clarke, who made the allegation that the Bush administration, had it been more diligent, had Dr. Rice done her job, that perhaps the September 11 attacks could have been avoided. Long-time adviser Karen Hughes on "Meet the Press."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN HUGHES, PRESIDENT BUSH ADVISER: I don't think we could have envisioned it and done anything to prevent it. If we could have in either administration, either in the eight years of the Clinton administration, or the seven-and-a-half months of the Bush administration, I'm convinced we would have done so. And I think that the problem with what Mr. Clarke did is it created a sense of misplaced responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, while Bush aides say, of course, that it's very important, Dr. Rice's testimony, what they hope the American people will do, will judge the president based on his actions after September 11, how went after al Qaeda, the war on terror, the war in Iraq. And, Candy, I should also let you know, as well, the conditions, what happens on the ground inside of Iraq, that is a big concern to this White House. The latest incident of violence in Najaf today -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks a lot, Suzanne.

John Kerry officially returns to the campaign trail this morning after recuperation from minor surgery on his shoulder. He visits church in Boston's Dorchester section and later flies to Washington for a week in which Kerry is expected to step up efforts to define himself for voters.

Kelly Wallace reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry's doctor might not be happy when he sees this: the senator slingless, greeting passersby outside his Boston home Saturday, before huddling inside with his foreign policy team. A day earlier, he chatted with his economic team. His top advisers, some of the biggest names in the Clinton administration, including former treasury secretary, Robert Ruben. Challenge number one, though, for Senator Kerry, who is making the issue of jobs a major part of his campaign, what to say about 300,000 new jobs created in March, the largest one- month increase in four years.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, all of us are pleased with the job numbers for this month. But there's almost no way this administration will avoid having lost two million jobs.

WALLACE: And that's a message aides say the senator will continue to bring to the campaign trail and to his ads. Like this new one...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Bush says sending jobs overseas makes sense for America.

WALLACE: .. now running in 17 states considered battlegrounds.

Challenge number two for Kerry, getting back on the stump and explaining what he would do as president after a March in which the Bush team spent millions trying to define the senator as a tax-raising threat to the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will say in focus groups when you listen to people, "I don't know much about him. I want to know more. When is he going to start talking to us?"

WALLACE: And challenge number three, keep bringing in the cash. Although just a few months ago the campaign was strapped, it has not been a problem of late. It announced it raised a record more than $50 million in the first three months of the year, topping what had been the record for a non-incumbent, the $29 million then Governor Bush raised in three months in 1999.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And challenge number four, no handshaking for at least a week, and no holding babies for a bit longer. Those are doctor's orders. And, Candy, perhaps this is the biggest challenge of all for a candidate who is trying to win over voters one rope line at a time -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Kelly, I want to talk about the biggest decision this candidate is going to have to make between now and the convention, and that's his number two. You have, as I have, talked to a number of people inside the campaign. Mostly outside the campaign is where the chatter is coming from.

I do hear that there's talk of this May 1 internal deadline for the campaign to come up with a veep name and then sometime shortly thereafter announce it. What's the rush here? What are the pros of that?

WALLACE: Well, the pros, Candy, of course, is getting some extra help out on the campaign trail to raise money. But, also, to sort of hit back on the attacks coming from President Bush, and also attacks coming from Vice President Dick Cheney.

Some advisers are concerned about those attacks, concerned about the impact on John Kerry. So that gives them some extra help on the trail.

The downside, of course, Candy, here, then you take all the mystery away if you have an early decision before the Democratic convention in July. So the one thing we're finding, though, Candy, lots of secrecy here. Aides are not talking about it. Jim Johnson, who is in charge of this search, really holding things very, very close to the vest -- Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks a lot, Kelly Wallace. Appreciate it.

We want to get some details directly from the Kerry campaign. Joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire, is the Granite State's former governor, Jeanne Shaheen, who is also the Kerry camp's national chairwoman.

Thank you so much for joining us, Governor.

JEANNE SHAHEEN, KERRY CAMPAIGN NATIONAL CHAIRWOMAN: Good morning.

CROWLEY: I want to talk about a couple of things. The first is that we are hearing rumblings both from the candidate himself on the trail and others that he is re-figuring some of these budget numbers that he has been hit so hard on for these new programs. Given that all the polls are showing that people are buying into the flip-flop, how does the candidate change his mind about some of these ideas he's put out there during the campaign without feeding into that perception? SHAHEEN: Well, I don't think it's the question of changing his mind about the ideas. I think it's a question of letting people know what his proposals are.

You know, the fact is, the L.A. Times poll that came out last week showed that people believe that John Kerry is going to be better on the economy, he's going to be better on fiscal issues than George Bush. And they have good reasons to feel that way.

The fact is, we have not seen a proposal by this administration to deal with creating new jobs despite the good numbers for this past month. His only proposal has been to make the tax cut for the wealthiest Americans permanent.

John Kerry doesn't believe that's the best way to create jobs. He thinks we need to invest in education, to invest in science and technology. He wants to see us cut the loopholes that encourage companies to go overseas to create jobs. Right now...

CROWLEY: Governor, if I could, the question kind of goes more to some of the things that he's talked about on the campaign trail. Now they are looking at the numbers inside the camp, realizing that there may not be the money out there to fully fund some of these projects. Is that not a problem?

SHAHEEN: Well, I'm not sure where you have gotten that information. What we plan to do in the coming weeks is to put forward a budget that shows where we think the numbers are going to come from. We've already put out a plan for how he intends to create 10 million jobs in the next four years.

So we're trying to be very clear about where we think we would get the money and what our plans would be on job creation, on health care. We just saw an independent proposal that said Kerry's health care plan is going to provide significant savings through his efforts to make records available electronically and through some of the cost- saving measures in his health care plan.

So I think what our intent is, is to get that information out so people know what John Kerry is proposing. And we believe when they hear that, they are going to recognize that he has proposals on health care, on job creation, on the environment, on education. And the current president has policies that have not worked to create jobs.

CROWLEY: So it sounds like you're saying that the definition of John Kerry begins in full with his budget proposals. One of the things that will be a very defining moment for him will be this vice presidential choice. What do you make as doing it as early as the talk is now, somewhere as early as May 1 on down until maybe May 30? It would still be quite early. Any disadvantage to that?

SHAHEEN: You know, I think all of that is really speculation. The fact is, we put in place an independent process to do the vice presidential selection.

As you said, and we talked about this before, that process is separate from the campaign operation. The goal is to select the person who is best qualified to that position. And that's what is going to happen.

CROWLEY: The four names that are mentioned again in The New York Times are some we have been hearing for a while: Vilsack out of Iowa, Richardson out of New Mexico, John Edwards, of course, and Dick Gephardt. Of those four, do you think you could find one in there that you really like?

SHAHEEN: Well, they are certainly all honorable men who have served well. There are a lot of other potential candidates, including women out there. So I think the field is wide open. And we're going to see a very careful selection process.

CROWLEY: So, just quickly, you don't see that as a final list?

SHAHEEN: That's not any list that I have seen.

CROWLEY: OK.

SHAHEEN: Other than from all of you.

CROWLEY: Well, you know, we like to help out whenever we can.

SHAHEEN: That's right.

CROWLEY: Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is also, of course, the chairwoman of the Kerry campaign. Thanks so much for joining us.

SHAHEEN: Thank you.

CROWLEY: D.C. power players hit the game show circuit, raising money for a good cause. We'll take you there.

Also, on the road with the Bush-Cheney camp. We'll hear from the campaign's communication director.

And later, the literary arms race. We'll examine the link between books bought and votes cast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: There was a new sense of economic optimism at the White House after Friday's employment report from the Labor Department. But there remain those questions about what the administration did or did not do in the months prior to the September 11 attacks. Condoleezza Rice testifies on Thursday before the 9/11 Commission.

Nicolle Devenish, who is communications director for Bush-Cheney 2004, is with me now to talk about how the campaign is handling the normal ups and downs that every campaign has.

Welcome, Nicolle, on your debut here. Thanks for joining us.

NICOLLE DEVENISH, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUSH-CHENEY 2004: Right. Thank you. I'm glad it's with you. CROWLEY: Let me talk first about the upcoming testimony. This has shown some -- there's been some erosion in the president's numbers on terrorism. How is the White House preparing Condoleezza Rice for this? And how tied is this to the whole campaign effort? It seems, you know, the whole ball of wax for George Bush has been the fight on terrorism.

DEVENISH: Sure. I think there are a couple of things to talk about. And, certainly, from the campaign perspective, we're not involved in preparing Dr. Rice. But she is most definitely the administration's very best messenger in talking about these things.

And I think we have all heard her explain that the president was tired of a policy that amounted to what they describe as swatting flies. So they were in the process of retooling that strategy. And I think you'll hear from Dr. Rice that the president was very much focused on fighting terrorism and coming up with a new strategy for seeking out terrorism and terrorists, where they train and where they live.

And that is certainly the path the president has put us on. And I think when you look at the way the campaigns have to deal with these very important issues, it's not to involve ourselves in the important work of the 9/11 Commission. It is really to present to voters a vision next November of how we move forward in preventing attacks of like those of 9/11 from ever happening again. And there's a real difference there between George Bush's vision of seeking out terror, where it grows and where those plans are hatched, and John Kerry's belief these are really law enforcement matters to be treated after the fact.

CROWLEY: Let me show you what is a campaign problem that stems from this. It's an L.A. Times poll that came out late last week. The question: "Was President Bush more focused on attacking Iraq than dealing with terrorism as his top priority?"

Fifty-seven percent of people said yes. They thought he was more focused on Iraq, on the battle against terrorism. For a campaign that is counting very much on this as a war president, those are troublesome numbers. How do you reverse that?

DEVENISH: Well, first of all, it's simply not true. And I think that when we begin this conversation -- we have only been engaged in this dialogue with John Kerry for one month. It's hard to believe that it's only been one month. But I think when people see each campaign present its vision for fighting terror in a post-9/11 world, where our oceans no longer protect us from these threats, I think it will be very clear that George Bush's vision and plan for doing that is one that will protect us from future attacks.

So I think we have begun a process that will go on for the next eight months, where you will hear us contrasting the president's vision with John Kerry's long record of voting against these very weapons systems that are protecting us here and helping us fight and win the war on terror. And those conversations are important, and they're going to be part of this campaign. CROWLEY: Let me talk to you about the economy. You all got a blast of good news from the new employment -- 300,000, a little more, jobs created...

DEVENISH: Right.

CROWLEY: ... in March. But the unemployment rate is still a couple points higher than it was when George Bush came into office. There's a very good chance he will come up to November having lost jobs as an incumbent president. Not since Herbert Hoover, as the Democrats will remind you.

How do you push back on an economic problem that all the polls show John Kerry is much stronger on than George Bush?

DEVENISH: Well, I don't think they have heard enough again about John Kerry's long record of supporting higher taxes.

CROWLEY: But isn't it a matter really of pushing George Bush's record? I mean, yes, it's one thing to attack John Kerry, and that's fine. But what do you have to sell economically to the American people?

DEVENISH: Now, that's a good question. And I heard Governor Shaheen just say that the president doesn't have policies for job creations. And I'm not sure if she missed Friday's news.

But certainly creating 300,000 jobs in March is evidence. And I think the American people will see it as proof that the president's pro-growth agenda is working. You know, under this president's leadership we turned a recession into a very robust recovery. So I think that, again, we'll have this conversation over the next seven months about the dueling visions for continuing the growth.

CROWLEY: We've only got about 30 seconds left. I want to ask you a question I put to the White House as well. And that is, we saw a lot of things during the primary campaign with Democrats, mostly people who's factory jobs have been lost forever in the small towns. What is in these numbers that gives them any hope?

DEVENISH: You know, I saw you interview Greg Mankiw on Friday, and I think his answer is the right one, that you need to grow the economy. And we need to enact a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda that will keep this economy growing. And I think that's the best thing we can do to bring those jobs back.

CROWLEY: Nicolle Devenish, communications director, come back and see us.

DEVENISH: Thanks.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

Next, a former presidential candidate answers the age-old question, what did you do on summer vacation?

Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": Try to relax, understand that you're playing for charity. You are putting your egos on the line for your charities, and that is a good thing. So you are a winner already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: ... Washington power plays love to show off, but this time it's for a good cause. We'll play final "Jeopardy" later on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Welcome back. Time for the headlines in the Sunday edition of our "Campaign News Daily."

In a Pennsylvania primary showdown for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Arlen Specter and Congressman Pat Toomey faced off last night in their only debate. Not surprisingly, each disparaged the other's voting record and claimed he was the more concerned candidate. Primary day is April 27.

Former presidential candidate John Edwards received a warm welcome from North Dakota Democrats at their annual convention in Fargo. The delegates cheered when Senator Kent Conrad hinted that "Vice President Edwards" had a nice ring to it. And Edwards kept the crowd going by sharing his thoughts on President Bush's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to outsource George Bush and this administration. Then we can provide real jobs for people in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: And turning to another former presidential candidate, Howard Dean has a summer job, distinguished visiting fellow. Dean will visit Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, giving a speech in a few weeks and another after the November elections. This summer, Dean will spend some time on campus meeting students and perhaps doing some writing of his own.

Speaking out against the coalition. The headlines this morning as thousands march through Baghdad.

And, it started with a Clinton administration. Now the presidential book boom has extended into the Bush White house. We'll examine why straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta with these headlines.

Iraqi Shiite protests in the holy city of Najaf turned deadly. Officials report at least 19 people killed in clashes with Spanish-led forces. The demonstrators support a Shiite cleric who has been outspoken against the U.S. military presence in Iraq. U.S. Civilian Administrator Paul Bremer says the protests crossed the line and will not be tolerated.

Travel outside Baghdad's Green Zone was halted today because of Shiite demonstrations in Baghdad there. The Green Zone is the site of the U.S.-led coalition headquarters. Officials took the decision, pointing out the protests would turn violent. No word on when the travel ban might be lifted.

Here at home, the State of Liberty, closed since 9/11 and due to reopen in July, could have done so sooner, apparently. The New York Times says foundation officials did not dip into general fund, and the National Park Service did not ask Congress for needed security upgrades. Officials say there was no rush.

Now more of INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

CROWLEY: Welcome back to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

The war has begun, between liberal and conservative authors, that is. In recent months, political books have dominated the best seller lists. But who buys these books and why?

Bill Schneider has this week's "Story Behind the Story."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): The literary arms race is on. Books have become weapons in the cultural war that's been going on since the '60s, left versus right -- a war that reached the peek with the baby-boom presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

RICH LOWRY, NATIONAL REVIEW: The Clinton and Bush are sort of archetypes for each side in this conflict.

SCHNEIDER: The Clintons spawned an entire industry of anti- Clinton books, with titles like "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "No One Left To Lie To."

But the Clintons got their revenge when Hillary Clinton's "Living History" became a worldwide best seller.

Now there's a thriving market in anti-Bush books, with titles like "Bushwhacked" and "Weapons of Mass Deception."

The secret of success in that market? Timing says David Corn, author of "The Lies of George Bush."

DAVID CORN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE NATION: In the spring of 2002 I talked to my agent about doing a book like this. She sniffed around the publishing houses, and at that point there was no interest.

SCHNEIDER: But times changes quickly.

CORN: In October of 2002, my agent tried again and got six houses within a day to say, Yes, we want to do it.

SCHNEIDER: Now, with the campaign on, there's also a thriving market in pro-Bush books, like "Deliver Us From Evil," "The Faith of George W. Bush" and "Bush Country." Each side is armed to the teeth -- with shocking revelations?

CRAIG UNGER, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF BUSH, HOUSE OF SAUD": Never before in history has a president of the United States had such a close relationship with another foreign power as the Bush family has with the Saudis.

SCHNEIDER: And up-front agendas like a new book by presidential adviser Karen Hughes.

KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: It's important to my family and to all the families in America that he be re-elected.

SCHNEIDER: You know on Web sites like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com they tell you customers who bought this book, also bought these other books? One scholar used that information to map out books that shared the same readers. Sure enough, he found two distinct markets a network of conservative readers, who purchased books like "The O'Reilly Factor;" and a network of liberal readers who purchased books like "The O'Reilly Factor".

Blue readers and red readers rarely read each other books and there are very few books that both sides read. Who needs neutrality when there's a war on?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: You want to see this literary arms race go nuclear? You wait until this summer, when Bill Clinton's book is supposed to come out -- Candy.

CROWLEY: I can't wait.

Swing voters, what do they buy?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it turns out that they don't read these books very much. These books are used to arm those who are already persuaded. Literature is supposed to convince the unconvinced, but very people are -- those people read these books.

CROWLEY: And what determines best seller? Is it the politics of the day?

SCHNEIDER: Timing, timing, timing.

You know, the Richard Clarke book came out right in the thick of the 9/11 hearings, and people accused him of timing it to do maximum arm to the Bush administration. But he said, No, no, no, he submitted it to the White House for clearance months ago, and they're the ones who caused it to be released now.

CROWLEY: And another lesson in timing next week?

SCHNEIDER: Oh, yes, the Craig Unger books is coming out next week, "House of Bush, House of Saud." Right in the middle of the controversy over 9/11, he has written a book which purports to show all the ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family.

CROWLEY: Thanks so much, Bill Schneider, senior political analyst, appreciate it.

Up next, a scoop for your coffee cup. "The Morning Grind" mulls over the veep list.

Plus....

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL FRANKEN, SATIRIST: Ask what Alex Trebek for "Jeopardy!" in the form of a question, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Who is Washington's best "Jeopardy!" player? We go behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in politics. That's ahead on INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Welcome back.

Here with our Sunday cup of "The Morning Grind," we've got CNN political editor John Mercurio.

John...

JOHN MERCURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes?

CROWLEY: OK. So, I want to start with last week, which is when we heard that John Sasso was coming to the DNC at the behest of John Kerry. What does that mean?

MERCURIO: Well, it's not going to do much. People are asking this weekend what it's going to do to Terry McAuliffe's role. It's not going to dramatically affect his role as the chairman of the committee, and as the sort of the titular leader of the party.

But second to McAuliffe. John Sasso is probably the most influential person now at the DNC. Basically, what he's going to do is sort of run the Kerry's campaign -- run the DNC portions of Kerry's campaign. For the sort of the political insiders, they remember Michael Huley from 2000. He was Al Gore's -- he was Al Gore's John Sasso.

CROWLEY: Eyes, ears, mouth.

MERCURIO: Eyes, ears, mouth, exactly.

People were watching, I think, this appointment very closely to sort of -- as a signal for how Kerry planned to use the committee during the campaign. And I think by choosing Sasso, who is a very serious, a very seasoned political operative, people think that he intends to use the committee, you know, intensely, plans to use all of its resources.

Sasso is a pretty well known political operative. He helped run Michael Dukakis' campaign in 1988. He serves on the -- on Fannie Mae right now, the board of Fannie Mae. And a piece of political trivia -- he was the Democrat in 1988 on the campaign who sort of outed or who discovered that Joe Biden was responsible or had plagiarized several speeches, which of course forced Joe Biden to drop out of the 1988 campaign.

CROWLEY: Oh, the possibilities are endless. Thank you so much.

MERCURIO: Little feather -- little feather in his cap, so...

CROWLEY: That's right. Yes.

So what else with the DNC? Anything else? I mean, is the Sasso appointment the end of it for Kerry or...

MERCURIO: No, it's actually sort of just the beginning. I'm hearing sources telling me that there are two other appointments that we should be watching for, one of them definitely taking place this week.

The campaign plans to announce that they have a surrogate committee director, and what that sort of means is the person who is going to be responsible for compiling the list and maintaining an active list of surrogate, the Democrats who can speak on Kerry's behalf. Obviously, Kerry can't be everywhere, speaking everywhere. So he needs people -- you know, potential VP candidates out there campaigning for him, speaking for him.

The other one that we're watching for, and it's, I think, very important is the director of what will be the Independent Expenditure Committee. Now what that -- it sounds kind of jargonish, but what it basically means is that this people will be responsible for overseeing the funding and the production of all the ads that the DNC runs for -- on behalf of the Kerry campaign. Kerry won't have anything to do with that appointment because of McCain-Feingold, they can't be responsible.

CROWLEY: That's a non -- they can't -- yes, that whole -- they can't coordinate.

MERCURIO: Right, exactly.

CROWLEY: So some -- so the DNC, presumably, is going to appoint that person. MERCURIO: Exactly. Exactly.

CROWLEY: Who will probably be Kerry friendly.

MERCURIO: I would imagine. All Democrats are Kerry friendly these days, right?

CROWLEY: Apparently, yes. Most of them, anyway.

OK. Veeps.

MERCURIO: Yes. Speaking of friendly Democrats...

CROWLEY: Yes, right. The friendliest of all Democrats are those who want to be in the veep. Who's -- what names are you hearing?

MERCURIO: Well, three of his former opponents in the primary, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt and Wesley Clark are out there these days. They're kind of campaigning on Kerry's behalf publicly, and on the surface. But they're also sort of out there promoting themselves, getting their names in the headlines.

Most importantly or most interestingly, I thought, was John Edwards, who was in North Dakota yesterday. He gave a speech at the state party's convention in Fargo. People called it a great speech. You know, really roused the crowd. Sold-out crowd. Standing room only.

But sort of the big news out of it -- you mentioned this in the "Campaign News Daily" -- was that senators Dorgan -- Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad came out and sort of publicly endorsed or at least, you know, strongly recommended that Kerry pick John Edwards. I talked to Senator Dorgan last night and he told me that he's strongly supporting -- plans to talk to John Kerry this week. Called Edwards "fully vetted," said he brings energy to the party and would to the ticket, and he's a Southern centrist who can win in November, which is sort of interesting -- I don't know of any other senators -- U.S. sitting senators who have kind of publicly come out and endorsed anybody in the VP race. It's sort of interesting.

Whether Dorgan and Conrad have much of an influence on Kerry sort of remains to be seen.

Gephardt was out there in New Hampshire last week on Thursday, gave two big speeches. Sort of intended, I think, to thank supporters who actually never got a chance to vote for him, because, remember, he dropped out before -- before New Hampshire -- before the New Hampshire primary.

And Clark will be honored; he'll be the keynote speaker on Thursday at a New Hampshire -- I'm sorry, at an Arkansas Democratic Party fund-raiser. So he'll get a chance there, I'm sure, to speak on behalf of Kerry, but also talk about himself.

CROWLEY: It's kind of like the veep primary going on here.

MERCURIO: Exactly. Exactly. CROWLEY: OK. I want to talk about the Pennsylvania race. Arlen Specter, Pat Toomey, both Republicans in a primary -- really bitter, trough primary race.

MERCURIO: Yes.

CROWLEY: Had their first debate last night. Obviously on the sidelines was the congressman who will be the Democratic nominee.

How did he get back -- how would he get back into the game?

MERCURIO: Yes, Joe Hoeffel was sitting on the sidelines last night, but he came up what could be the latest fad in political debate watching, something that might actually make these things fun to watch -- the debate drinking game.

So -- and here's how you play.

CROWLEY: OK. I have teenage children. We don't like this game.

MERCURIO: Here's how you play: every time -- according to the Hoeffel campaign Web site, they put up the rules for this. Every time Pat Toomey called Specter "a dangerous liberal," you take a sip. Every time Arlen Specter takes specific credit for Clarence Thomas being on the Supreme Court , you take a sip. And every candidate -- every time either candidate invokes his -- quote -- "good friend George W. Bush," you would take a sip. And obviously, there were several more rules of the game.

Now, Hoeffel, of course, is a politician, so he wasn't trying to encourage anybody to get drunk. He was encouraging people to drink Evian water for this. But people wrote into his campaign blog saying, No, I'm not going to drink water, I'm going to drink -- Pennsylvania's got at least four or five good beers. You've got Yingling, you've got Rolling Rock, you've got -- what is it? Penn -- I can't even remember all the good beers.

CROWLEY: That's just as well. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) John Mercurio's. Write him.

MERCURIO: Right. Exactly.

CROWLEY: John, thank you for joining us.

Get your morning off to a wired start with the best brew on politics, "The Morning Grind." It's at www.cnn.com/grind.

Stay tuned for "Jeopardy!," the Washington, .D.C., version. Did your favorite power player make the cut?

Also, Bush versus Kerry. Our hot topics team explores who's winning the race for the White House with seven months to go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Democrats are facing unprecedented challenges in planning for their convention in Boston. They are balancing the threat of terrorism with keeping downtown businesses happy.

CNN's Dan Lothian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): At this maid service and software company in Boston, security and traffic plans for the Democratic National Convention are causing major headaches.

JANE KOOPMAN, MAID PRO MARKETING DIRECTOR: Well, we talk about shutting down for a week. We talk about all going on vacation, hopefully on company time. But realistically, some of us are probably going to have to work from home.

LOTHIAN: Why? The convention's main venue is just out the window, the North Station train stop, which feeds this area and is under the Fleet Center, will be closed. And a key interstate, 93, just yards away, will be shut down during evening hours. Difficult for workers here to get in, even harder for the cleaning staff to pick up supplies and make house calls.

KOOPMAN: I guess Boston stays dirty.

LOTHIAN: Massachusetts General Hospital, where Senator John Kerry had shoulder surgery on Wednesday, will try to shift appointments to earlier hours and postpone elective procedures planned during the four-day DNC event.

In all, 24,000 rail commuters will be displaced; some of the 200,000 commuters who use I-93 will be inconvenienced.

STEVE RICCIARDE, SECRET SERVICE: Our goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for all event participants and the general public.

LOTHIAN: Over the past 15 months, security has been the sole focus of multi-agency effort to prepare for the convention. And while the lives of hundreds of thousands of Boston-area residents will be disrupted, some are banking on the business the event will bring in to help alleviate the pain.

(on camera): In New York City, where the Republican convention will be held, the police commissioner says there are no plans to close Penn Station, which runs under Madison Square Garden, although he said there would be -- quote -- "a robust police presence around and onboard trains coming in and out of the station."

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Lots of talking points this week for both sides of the presidential fight, with Condoleezza Rice's testimony Thursday and some signs of job growth. How will they play in the campaigns?

Some ideas from CNN political analyst and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus.

Thank you all so much.

OK. Condoleezza Rice -- I've got to believe that the Republicans are dying to get this behind them.

CHERI JACOBUS, GOP STRATEGIST: Oh, actually, you know, everybody would probably want to get this behind them, when you look at it first on its face.

But the fact is, if you look at it this way -- if you're doing the strategy for the Bush campaign or for this White House, who would you want as the spokesperson out there on 9/11? More than anyone else, it would be Condoleezza Rice. So I don't know if there's some genius at work at the White House, or it's a happy accident. But the controversy surrounding putting her out there and having her testify has insured that more people will be looking at her, and she is the most impressive person in the administration, next to the president.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I agree that Condoleezza has done a great job over the last three years in presenting the president's case on a number of issues, including national security.

But this is a very important week for Condoleezza Rice. Not only must she go before congress -- I mean, the commission and answer some tough questions. But Condoleezza Rice must also discuss what, if any, steps the Bush administration took to address al Qaeda and the growing threat of terrorism. And she has, you know, in the past said some things that perhaps is a little contradictory. She must also this week come full circle and explain some of Richard Clarke's allegation.

JACOBUS: And she's actually the best person to do that.

The fact is Richard Clarke has been somewhat discredited himself. He's made some conflicting remarks. I think the polls show that the American people, after they've seen a little bit of Richard Clarke -- he's done well for himself; he's made money on the book. But they really kind of back the president on this.

So I think that Condoleezza Rice goes into her day on the cameras and her day in court, so to speak, really on the upswing. And I think...

BRAZILE: But you can just imagine Tim Roemer or Bob Kerrey or any number of commissioners asking Condoleezza, Why did they withhold Clinton files? I mean, this week we learned the Bush administration withheld over three quarter of Bill Clinton's files.

JACOBUS: Well, they are saying a lot of that was duplicative material, stuff that wasn't really important. And as soon as they saw that there was any question about it, they are putting that out there. So I think that's pretty much a non-issue.

And it -- I think if the Democrats want to focus on that this week, that would be fine by the Republicans because the really important issues are the things that Condoleezza Rice is going to be talking about this Thursday. She is going to perform as well as she always has.

BRAZILE: She's a great -- she's wonderful. I mean, we all know that she is savvy, she's smart. But this woman was prepared...

JACOBUS: Well, she's a darn good a national security adviser to a very good president.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: Well, look, I'm not going to join the fan club this week until after the testimony. How's that?

JACOBUS: We look forward to you joining.

BRAZILE: All right.

CROWLEY: Let me move on to the jobs figures, which came out this week.

So does that end jobs, jobs, jobs as an issue?

BRAZILE: Absolutely not. We've had two years of recovery, and finally 300,000 jobs. They promised it last year.

Look, had the recovery -- the job recovery taken place last year, perhaps this issue would not be on the table next month. But it will be on the table from now until Election Day, because this administration has lost 2.9 million jobs. We have seen no growth in manufacturing. This administration has no job plans.

So jobs, jobs, jobs from now until Election Day.

CROWLEY: All true -- all true figures. Came in with unemployment rate almost two points higher than when Clinton took office, and 2.5 million (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

JACOBUS: But you can't have a -- you can't have that argument in a vacuum without looking at the recession the president had when he first came into the office, without looking at 9/11 and at the war in Iraq.

The fact is, unemployment is down 40 of 50 states, many of those blue states that you guys consider yours. That -- when the arrows are pointing in the right direction, that's very good news for the president. That's what people look for. They don't blame him for jobs lost, but they're very encouraged...

BRAZILE: Oh, they blame him when his treasury secretary is in Cincinnati this week. I know, because people told me. I was in Cincinnati, Candy, and he's, again, talking about outsourcing. They blame him when the American unemployment is still...

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: People are worried about their jobs. We still do not have...

JACOBUS: 308,000 new jobs is nothing but good news and it's interesting to me....

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: It's good news, but Republicans are drinking champagne too soon. A job...

JACOBUS: You know what?

BRAZILE: We need a recovery plan that will bring good middle- class jobs back to the American people and not to China.

JACOBUS: None of us should be happy until every American who wants a job can have one.

BRAZILE: We agree on that.

JACOBUS: The arrow's in the right direction and the administration is doing very well in that regard.

CROWLEY: I've got less than a minute and I want to throw you a loop.

BRAZILE: Uh-oh.

CROWLEY: We're looking out there and the four names that keep coming up on these veep search for John Kerry: Vilsack in Iowa, Richardson in New Mexico, Gephardt in Missouri and...

BRAZILE: Edwards.

CROWLEY: .. Edwards -- right. How can we forget -- in North Carolina.

Pick one of those.

BRAZILE: Well, if I had to pick from that small list -- and I do believe the list is much longer, I would say Dick Gephardt.

Missouri is a battleground state. Dick Gephardt has incredible, you know, strength with organized labor and many other groups in the party. He's a moderate; he's mainstream. I think Dick Gephardt.

CROWLEY: You can't have that long, but who would you pick, if you were John Kerry.

JACOBUS: I don't think I would pick anybody in that four right now. I think they're going to wait and see who are going to pull in the state that John Kerry seems to be needing at the very end. It will be strictly based on...

BRAZILE: And I agree with that, too.

CROWLEY: Wow! We're going to end on that, agreement. Cheri Jacobus, Republican strategist. Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, thank you all.

JACOBUS: Thank you.

CROWLEY: Up next, play ball. It is opening day for Major League Baseball and we'll tell you which politicians are warming up in the bullpen.

Woah, there's -- there -- I'm not sure we want to go that far.

Is Washington in "Jeopardy!"? Absolutely. Details ahead, INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CROWLEY: Batter up. The Bush-Cheney ticket is ready to play ball as the season begins for Major League Baseball. President Bush throws out the first pitch of the season in St. Louis. That's where the Cardinals face the Milwaukee Brewers. Vice-president Dick Cheney makes the first toss in Cincinnati for the Reds-Chicago Cubs game.

P.S., both Missouri and Ohio are important states in the election.

John Kerry's shoulder surgery keeps him from winding up.

Some political types are matching wits up on a popular TV games how. We caught up with "Jeopardy!"'s power players during a rehearsal for the game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: From Washington, D.C., This is Power Players week on "Jeopardy!"

ALEX TREBEK.HOST, "JEOPARDY!": Try to relax. Understand that you're playing for charity. You're putting your egos on the line for your charities, and that is a good thing. So you're a winner already.

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FMR. EPA ADMINISTRATOR: I've made a fool of myself for no money at all, so doing it for this amount of money for charity , it's OK..

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN ( R), ARIZONA: I'm glad to see that these very high-profile, really smart people are really showing how they're not very smart after all.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: I'm already to just blame my failure on the buzzer.

PEGGY NOONAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I'll teach them a lesson.

TUCKER CARLSON, CNN HOST: I think the odds are I'll be crushed, spanked, destroyed beaten and I'm prepared for that.

All right. 2001 for 600 please.

TAVIS SMILEY, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: My first strategy is hit the buzzer first. I play more video games than Christie Whitman and Tim Russert.

ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I am hoping they ask me who the prime minister of China is. That way I can say, "Who is Hu?"

FRANKEN: Boongie, boongie, boongie boo. Bunky, bunky, boink, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

I say ask not what "Jeopardy!" can do for you, ask what Alex Trebek can do for "Jeopardy!"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The "Jeopardy!" series airs the week of May 10. You will need to check your local listings for the right time.

Thank you for tuning into INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

In 30 minutes, on "RELIABLE SOURCES," "Images of War: How Much is Too Much?" Howard Kurtz and a panel of journalists discuss the week's disturbing pictures from Iraq.

And at noon Eastern, Wolf Blitzer hosts Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts and ranking member Carl Levin on "LATE EDITION."

We thank you for watching.

"CNN LIVE SUNDAY: continues right now from CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

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